Chinese migrant communities introduced the first bananas to Australia. Chinese migrants are thought to have brought the first banana plants with them to Australia in the 1800s – firstly in the early to mid 1800s to Carnarvon in Western Australia and then to north Queensland in the 1870s.
Queensland accounts for 94 per cent of Australia's banana production, with almost all of that in North Queensland. Banana farming is centered around the Cassowary Coast region (Tully, Innisfail and Kennedy), the Atherton Tablelands, and at Lakeland, north of Cairns. The Cavendish banana accounts for 97% of production.
There are two varieties of banana which are native to north Queensland. The most common one is Musa acuminata subsp. banksii, which is found from Ingham to the tip of Cape York. The second is Musa jackeyi, which is extremely rare and known only from Bellenden Ker and Cooktown.
A History Of Bananas Told Through Business
Lorenzo Dow Baker was the first to import from the fields from Jamaica to Boston, selling them on the docks. Born in 1840, Baker is credited with starting the modern banana production and importation industry.
"Biosecurity Australia is presently considering a request from the Philippines for the importation of bananas, but the science has previously ruled against it because of the unacceptable risk of diseases being introduced into Australia," Mr McGauran said.
“South Australia is not the perfect climate for bananas – they like humidity and high rainfall,” Oakley says.
Exports In 2021 the top exporters of Bananas were Ecuador ($3.67B), Philippines ($1.49B), Costa Rica ($1.23B), Colombia ($1.07B), and Guatemala ($1.01B). Imports In 2021 the top importers of Bananas were United States ($2.44B), China ($1.14B), Japan ($852M), Germany ($801M), and Russia ($748M).
Where it's Grown: Australian Cavendish Bananas are grown in tropical and sub tropical regions. The tropical banana growing regions of Norethern Queensland, mainly around Tully and Innisfail, produce more than 90% of Australia's Bananas.
The Philippines remained the second top exporter of bananas in 2022, according to a market review released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
The agricultural system reflected the local regional diet at the time which included staples such as yams, taro and bananas. "Food is an important part of Indigenous culture and identity and this research shows the age and time depth of these practices," said Mr Williams.
Mackays Marketing represents a collective of growers from Far North Queensland that together supply bananas and avocados to Coles and other retailers. Key growing partners for this facility so far are the Mackay (Tully and Bundaberg), Howe (Atherton Tablelands), Buchanan (Innisfail) and Oberthur (Mareeba) families.
THE BIG BANANA FUN PARK
In 1964 John Landi wanted something to make passing traffic stop at his road side banana stall. He had heard of a “Big Pineapple” in Hawaii and thought that something big would definitely stop traffic.
Although mango is not native to Australia, many selections of trees were made in the 1960's. These trees were generally found in the vicinity of Queensland ports. Many of the trading ships in the 1800's left mango seeds behind that found their way on to farms and stations.
Bananas are grown commercially in Queensland, New South Wales, Western Australia and the Northern Territory. There are currently about 13,000 hectares of bananas grown in Australia; 94 per cent of which are located in four north Queensland growing regions: Tully, Innisfail, Lakeland and the Atherton Tablelands.
Among the native fruits, eleven prominent native species have been commercially produced in Australia including bush tomato, Davidson's plum, desert lime, finger lime, Kakadu plum, lemon aspen, muntries, quandong, Tasmanian pepper berry, and Illawarra plum.
Based on a comparison of 155 countries in 2020, India ranked the highest in banana consumption with 24,991 kt followed by China and Indonesia. On the other end of the scale was Turkmenistan with 1.00 kt, East Timor with 1.00 kt and Swaziland with 1.00 kt.
In Australia, Cavendish and Lady Fingers are the two most popular varieties.
Mackays are indisputably the largest producer of bananas in Australia. We pride ourselves on delivering a consistently high quality product and service year round, to both local retailers and customers as well as major supermarkets throughout Australia.
The red wax indicates the bananas are grown using the Ecoganic farming method so they are free of harmful pesticides. The bananas are dipped in a bright red food grade wax to let shoppers know they are different from every other variety.
China imports Bananas primarily from: Philippines ($426M), Cambodia ($198M), Vietnam ($197M), Laos ($183M), and Ecuador ($96.9M). The fastest growing import markets in Bananas for China between 2020 and 2021 were Cambodia ($78.7M), Vietnam ($63.3M), and Laos ($11M).
The world's three largest producers and marketers of fresh bananas are Dole Food Company, Chiquita Brands International, and Del Monte Fresh Produce. Each of these companies owns banana plantations in most of the banana-producing regions in the world.